Wendy, I usually encourage moms to use *all* their senses to
facilitate MER when pumping.  The massage, etc. help prepare for the pumping
but some things that also work are:
                    -Sight:  picture of the baby (nursing if possible!)
                    -Sound:  a tape recording of the baby fussing before
                                    feeding and/or feeding noises.  Use a
                                    portable tape player with headphones if
                                    others present won't appreciate these!
                    -Smell:  have mom put a worn sleeper or tshirt in a zip-
                                 bag and open it up and take a whiff when
                                    ready to pump (some moms find this
                                    better than anything else!)
                    -Taste:  remember to have the water or drink
                                    you normally have at nursing times
                    -Touch:  sometimes the pump itself is enough but may
                                    need warmth, massage, hand expression,
or
                                    even that fuzzy baby blanket or sleeper
that
                                    smells like baby too!
Hope this helps some of those moms who get frustrated...usually helps to
just know that not all moms are "Large storage" variety and I do believe
that triggering MERs does make up for this variation.IMHO
Peggy Litt, RN, CLC
Hospital-based Lactation Consultant
Quincy, IL
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Original Message-----
From: Wendy Funk, LLL Leader <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wednesday, September 02, 1998 9:08 AM
Subject: Peter Hartmann's work and pumping moms


>I have been reading over some of Peter Hartmann's articles about
>storage capacity and milk synthesis.  It's truly fascinating how
>wonderous our bodies are!
>
>Anyway, what I've drawn from his work is that there is a tremendous
>variation in how much milk a woman can store.  That women who store
>less can still meet the needs of their babies if they feed their
>babies more often, than a woman who can store a ton of milk between
>feeds.  Kind of goes a long way in explaning why some women *can*
>Babywise their kids, and for others it can be exceedingly dangerous.
>
>So I got to thinking, what about when a mom works full time?  My thought
>would be then, that a lower storage capacity mom would need to pump more
>often than a high capacity woman.  I have known some women who could
>pump out 8 ounces with a silly old formula company pump, where others
>work excruciatingly hard to pump out 2 ounces with a hosptial grade
>pump.  One such woman I knew pumped in the AM before she left for
>work, 3-4 times per day at work and then at night after baby went
>to bed in order to meet her babies needs.  You could just see her face
>drop when others would speak of how much they could pump. Any tips
>for these types of moms?  I know the usual type info, like relaxation,
>bending over and shaking your breasts, massage, etc... Is it getting
>more let-downs that will help these women then?
>
>Thanks in advance
>
>Wendy Funk, epidemiologist in MCH
>